2 Hour Creative Roughs
1 week in lockdown - a daily creative challenge - any medium any process - 2 hours from idea to result - given a random word to start - a friend for critical discussion - # not knowing keeping going
DAY 7: BETTER
Creative process: Relieved at having an accessible word, thought I had lots of ideas. Picked one and went about collecting shots. Wanted to use photographs. Thought the choreography could manifest as the transition, movement and juxtaposition of the shots. During collection, lost complete faith in the idea and struggled to keep going. Felt disillusioned from then onwards and forced myself to complete something, anything to show. Deemed failure. Came back to watch it a week later and felt less ashamed of the result.
Better: is a subjective thing, often revealing prejudices and assumptions.
I learned that: trying to do a demanding creative challenge like this is demanding, and that I shouldn’t try and work for 7 days straight without a break. That sometimes success in the creative process is about keeping a firm grip on the power of doubt. Doubt derailed this one. That if the video sets up a precedent for a certain type of logic, then departing from that logic might not work unless it looks intentional / is meaningful within that logic.
Tom says: there’s a coherence in the content that leads the video to be about ornamentation. That this becomes metaphorical with me and the mirror. That the real-life split screen is interesting and worth exploring. That I have 3 prologues before the video starts, and that’s too many.
I would develop: the kinds of shots I took, the quality of the shots, the message I want to convey about ‘better art’ being grounded in orientalism.
DAY 6: UNBECOMING
Creative process: Enjoyed conceptualising, as the word has a quality / dynamic sense. Developed an idea thinking through the framework of film / visual. Found myself with domestic objects once again (a symptom of creativity in lockdown?). Wanted to work with still picture so inevitably became stop motion. Once filming began, more ideas occurred and a narrative / characters emerged. No time left to think about audio - massive shame.
Unbecoming: is to me all about what is appropriate, fitting, proper. An inherently subjective thing used pejoratively.
I learned that: stop motion is a medium in itself - and it takes a bloody long time to work with. Choreography of stop motion is about narrative, about pace, about taking the viewer through something. Audio would have strengthened a specific tone, pace, feel, intention.
Tom says: if he didn’t know the word, then he would guess it as ‘confrontation’ and enjoyed the somewhat aggressive encounters taking place between these objects. That he could follow a narrative logic but was still unpredictable. Favourite part: the recoil.
I would develop: the tone of the work through audio (a wrestling WWF soundscape?) and spend time choreographing how each object acts.
DAY 5: WHINE
Creative process: In contrast to the day before, I wanted to start with audio as the first step. Whine, conveniently = all about the sound / tone. Considered penning a poem, couldn’t, resorted to a collected soundtrack (floorboards!). Worked from the soundtrack to create movement. Found an angle for the camera shot, it became anatomical as a result. Felt like it was missing a crucial layer. Added in the text / irony at the last minute, which felt high-risk. Worked out ok.
Whine: is a type of sound
I learned that: I find creating humour really intimidating (much easier to try and be clever or beautiful). I can take more risks, and could have gone much further with the irony. Felt more comfortable featuring my body if my face wasn’t in shot. Like creating things about the body and want to move towards visceral stuff. Simplicity isn’t bad, there’s a satisfaction to cohesiveness.
Tom says: makes him think of how well-oiled our silent body is, and how strange / comical it would be if we were as noisy as old furniture. That the camera angle is novel, and coheres with the movement and sound choice well.
I would develop: the movement to be more ambitious, more varied, more tense / unpredictable
DAY 4: PLASTIC
Creative process: Brainstorm led to no ideas today. Worked with my hands to play with the plastics I could see. Added a camera and played with different shots. Settled on the bed-shot. Improvised movement. Uploaded footage and edited intuitively. Searched for an audio that would contrast and amplify the lethargic mood. Creative process today was totally intuitive and without a vision in mind. One thing led to another.
Plastic: is disposable, ubiquitous, useful, infinite, everlasting, unescapable
I learned that: It’s possible to be a maker when feeling completely uncreative. Lighting is important, as is visual composition - depth of shot. Combo of jump cuts + still shot + music create a time-passing-montage effect. Working with a camera from the outset makes the filmmaking process so much more enjoyable! Still shots offer a different set of possibilities.
Tom says: the most exciting part is the visual composition, it speaks of something to do with waiting and solitude and reminds him of David Lynch.
I would develop: the plastic bag effect with more sound, layers of plastic in front of the camera. A mixed audio track incl. journalistic stuff.
DAY 3: TIRE
Creative process: Leaned into my guilty pleasure (why does this word sound weird?) and investigated linguistics of word. Majority of total time spent on research - reading through university notes - brainstorming. Going on wild tangents. Decided to communicate a summary of what I’d been reading - and was determined to do a no-edit video. That failed - obviously. Had to spend time editing speeds and voiceovers. Should have written a script. Should have planned the brainstorm. Should have spent less time enjoying geeking out, and more time thinking about how to communicate the idea?
Tire: still makes me think of linguistics and how wonderful words are.
I learned that: Leaning into my guilty pleasures has more long-term than short-term benefits and I should stick with it. This is a type of youtube video popular about 10 years ago, education-entertainment genre. Palpable enjoyment is central.
Tom says: this reminds him of videos like minutephysics and vihart, that the most memorable bit was syntax vs morphology, that you always have to do two of the following three things: planning, scripting, editing. Cannot escape more than one.
I would develop: the visual design and refine the content to focus on the most interesting and relatable part of this - what about language makes stuff sound natural to us?
DAY 2: THERAPEUTIC
Creative process: Brainstorm on the word led to some visual shots and a script. Script also lead to a visual wordplay and more shots. 3 layers came together during editing. Majority of the time spent on the editing and climbing over brick walls in iMovie.
Therapeutic: is a complicated word that’s about self-care, it’s textured
I learned that: when working with a script, work on it! Use it to refine and retake visual shots. I’m prone to thinking about tactile textures with each word, and juxtapositions, so I had to consciously move away from the impulse to film lots of windy things outdoors. I like the confessional mode but it feels very vulnerable still.I love visual wordplay and the choreographic aspect of that. Mistakes can become the best parts of something - don’t try and ‘correct’ everything.
Tom says: that fonts are as important as music!!!! and that I should have put more thought into it (Impact is ugly). Favourite moment was the word uncomfortable. There’s a slight mismatch in the performative intensity of face vs script. He liked the moments that the transparency filter entered and exited.
I would develop: the script and the wordplay.
DAY 1: LUSH
Creative process: Textures that are lush and those that aren’t > storyboarded a couple of objects and the climax. Started filming, which led to more ideas of things I could use. There was a lot of footage of experimentation so the idea came together through the editing. Was extremely fun working with texture and sound.
Lush: says to me succulent / juicy
I learned that: my idea of narrative was interrupted by the reality of filming - the objects didn’t ‘build’ to the climax as I had hoped, but instead were richer in their own right. I could have taken this into account if I’d realised earlier, but also don’t regret letting the idea change. Sound is such a big thing. The role of the camera ins’t a given and another factor to be intentional about.
Tom says: this reminded him of the social media cooking videos but with an absurd twist. Also the live performance art of the 1970s-80s.
I would develop: the editing to make the pace more exciting / unpredictable.